Skiing has become a very popular sport attracting huge number of skiers to ski areas every year. There are a number of situations while skiing which cause the threat of accidental injury due to, for instance, collisions between skiers, or frostbite and freezing due to a skier becoming lost under severe weather conditions.
There are a number of situations on the ski slopes which might lead to collisions between skiers. The most common cause for collisions is when the speed of the skier is not adjusted according to the skiing conditions of the slopes or to the level of the skiing skill of the skier. Skiing with high speed on crowded, icy slopes or under reduced visibility as well as skiing on a slope which does not correspond to the skiing abilities of the skier might cause the skier to lose control and collide with other skiers. A common situation is when a slower skier is overtaken by a faster skier and the slower skier turns into the path of the faster skier resulting in a collision and injuries.
Under the conditions of reduced visibility caused by fog or falling snow, a skier can wander from a marked ski trail. There are reported cases of skiers freezing to death in situations where skiers missed marked ski slopes by the length of a ski and subsequently became lost in the mountain adjoining the slope.
Another situation is where a part of a ski slope is closed for special events, such as ski races, or a ski slope is completely shutdown because of dangerous conditions thereon and thus do not require attendance of ski patrols. Skiers go down these slopes, and fall experiencing an injury thereupon. If no one is around to find them, the results can be deadly.
It is therefore desirable that some easy, convenient means be available for warning skiers in potentially dangerous situations or conditions on ski slopes, or signaling in the case of the dangerous weather conditions such as reduced visibility.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,445 it is proposed a light source be accommodated in the handle of a ski-stick which emits visible warning signals using electric power. Use of the device is limited to the situations when a skier wants to show directions of his turn.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,274 there is proposed a warning device producing an audible sonic signal using electrical power and a battery as source of energy. Major limitations of electrically powered devices for this purpose are the significant reduction of the life time of the battery under the conditions of the lower temperatures and insufficient loudness which can be obtained from standard sized battery powered speaker devices.
Horns/whistles operated by pressurized gas have two main advantages over electrically powered devices: loudness and insensitivity to the operational conditions, particularly low temperatures.
Loudness of the sound blasts generated by compressed gas powered horns makes these devices ideal for the outdoor conditions such as large open spaces, trees, fog and snowing. Also loudness and the number of sound blasts are not affected by operational conditions like low temperatures.
The general object of the invention is to provide a device which is easily accommodated on a ski pole and used as a ski pole handle and warning signaling device.
Another object of the invention to provide a device which emits an audible warning signal.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a ski pole handle which contains a warning-signaling device and which is easily and quickly installed or replaced as needed.
Other objects of the invention and a number of the advantages thereof will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and description of the invention.